The Cursed Plan
by OnceUponATimeLove
Summary: They had a plan. The plan was simple. the plan failed. Now what will Rumpelstiltskin do? Will the lovers reunite or will the plan curse them all?
1. Preface

**Well this is the beginning of a story...the preface if you will. I think that if you stick around and find out exactly WHAT plan failed you will be super excited... Enjoy and review:))**

* * *

Rumplestiltskin had it all planned out. Every single little detail was fixed and ready for the worst curse Fairytale Kind had ever seen. He made absolutely positively sure that he would be able to find his son, keep the woman he loved by his side, and still command most of the power.

What happened?

He woke up in a large house, perfect.

But there was no one beside him.

There was a room for his son, perfect.

But where was he?

That's when Rumplestiltskin knew that something was terribly wrong. Where was Belle? He had planned and mapped out everything.

Everything was ready.

Nothing was right.

Rumplestiltskin cursed and threw a small glass goblet at the wall. It made a satisfying breaking noise and he hobbled towards the door. Grumbling under his breath as the old pain returned to his knee.

The queen must have figured out the plan. She must have messed with the curse somehow.

Sudden undeniable terror filled him.

Belle.

If she knew….what if she…what if the story he heard…

What if it was true?

What is Belle was dead.

What if he had failed?

* * *

**Wanna know what happened? Its super awesome! I cant wait to write it all down! So review!**


	2. The Beginning

**A/N: So here is chapter one, i really hope you like it:) It lays the groundwork for the rest of the story. You will get to find out what the plan is and how the plan came to being the next two chapters! I hope you love!**

* * *

You could say that it all started when Belle arrived at the Dark Castle. She gazed around the huge entryway in some sort of awe. She had never seen anything so big.

So dark.

So…dusty.

It took her almost a full year to clean all of her new home. During this time she got used to his quips.

_"What's that?" She asked pointing at the little bundle in his arms. _

_"Never seen one of these before eh, dearie? It's called a baby."_

_"No I know what it is, I mean, what is it doing here?"_

_"It's for the stew tonight." He said straight-faced plopping the sleeping infant into her arms. She couldn't stop the smile. _

_"No, seriously Rumplestiltskin, why do we have a baby?" He finally grinned at her. _

_"Just watch it for a few days." He ordered, disappearing to who knows where. Belle stood for a moment, staring at the place he had been standing moments before. She looked down at the baby in her arms whose eyes were now open and focused on her face. _

_"Don't worry little one," she said, propping the broom she was holding against the wall so that she could adjust her hold on the baby, "you wont be going in the stew tonight, he's the one who should be worried." _

She stopped jumping whenever he appeared behind her suddenly.

_Belle was dusting his huge spinning wheel when she heard the almost silent pop that accompanied him whenever he appeared out of nothing. _

_"Hello Rumplestiltskin." She said with a smile as she whirled around to find him standing very close, arms outstretched over his head, fingers in the imitation of claws, an almost terrifying expression on his face. He pouted at her, lowering his arms. _

_"How on earth did you know?" He was standing so close that their noses were mere inches apart. Belle laughed and swatted at him with her dust rag. _

_"A magician never reveals her secrets." She said with a fairly good impression of his trademark laugh. He harrumphed at her and walked away, but not before she saw the gentle amusement in his eyes. _

His laugh became infectious.

_His laughter boomed all around her as she tried to appear regal, even though her entire body was a deep purple. _

"_It's not funny Rumple." She said indignant. (She had taken to calling him Rumple because let's face it, his name was a handful.) "It's your fault anyways!"_

"_But! But! You're PURPLE!" That took him into a whole new bout of laughter, Belle found herself smiling as much as she tried to squelch it, and finally she was laughing too, and the next thing they knew they were laying on the marble floor of the entryway side by side, attempting to catch their breath. _

"_Rumple," Belle panted, finally able to breathe. "Please un-purple me." _

_That just set them off again. _

And she fell in love with him.

_The fireplace was crackling, it was raining, and they were reading. She was curled up comfortably on the chaise lounge in front of the fire and he sat on the floor, leaning back against the side. From where she was she could easily run her fingers through his hair just as she so desperately wanted. She was trying and failing to read a book he had given her, instead focusing on the way his green-gold scales glowed in the firelight. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. _

He fell in love with her.

_He glanced up at her and saw that she was looking at him, in a way he had caught her looking more often recently.__In a way he knew he gazed upon her all the time. He noted her red cheeks and she glanced down at her book for a moment before looking back up into his amber eyes._

"_I-I have to go take care of some things." He said jumping up and striding out of his room to the tower. _

'_Coward.' He thought to himself as he escaped. _

The next day he released her.

But she came back.

* * *

A/N: And thats when the good stuff starts:))) Reviews please!


	3. The Discovery

**_A/N:_ Well here is where my idea takes root, i hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

_"You're back already, good, good thing I'm uh- I'm nearly out of straw." Rumpelstiltskin said flustered._

_"Hm. Come on, you're happy that I'm back." Belle teased. Warmth spread across his face._

_"I'm not unhappy." He hedged._

_"And uh, you promised me a story."_

_"Did I?" He couldn't quite remember._

_"Mhm"_

_"Oh"_

_"Tell me about your son"_

_"Uh- I lost him there's nothing more to tell really."_

_"And since then you've loved no one and no one has loved you?" She asked. He was surprised at her accuracy and he was too much of a coward to answer her question. So he asked one of his own._

_"Why did you come back?" He whispered_

_"I wasn't going too, then, something changed my mind."_

She leaned forward and for one heart stopping moment Rumplestiltskin thought she was going to kiss him. Then suddenly she pulled back. "No, no." she said seemingly to herself. "This isn't right." She looked into his eyes and smiled a little. "I have to tell you something. "

"Go on?" He felt as though his heart was going to pound out of his chest.

"I met a woman on the road." His heart stopped.

"What sort of woman, dearie?" He asked carefully.

"It was the Dark Queen, Rum, I really am no idiot; the leather corset really gave her away."

"And what did she say?"

"Stuff about curses and True Love's Kiss; she thinks I should use that to 'solve my problems'. Honestly though, why would I trust her?"

"Why do you trust me?" Belle sighed.

"Because you are good, and honorable, and kind…" She trailed off and looked down at where her hand was resting above his knee.

"Or none of the above." He shook her off and stood, pacing the room.

"Rum i-"

"Stop it." He turned around and looked her dead in the eye. "Please. Stop it. How do I know that you aren't already in league with her? How do I know that any of what you are telling me is true?" He began to get angry; Belle could feel the change in the atmosphere as if a storm were coming.

"Why wo-"

"SHUT UP! Just for a moment, dearie." Belle frowned and stood, walking determinedly to where he was standing, rubbing the bridge of his nose. She stood very close to him, crossed arms almost touching his chest. He looked at her in surprise and she just looked into his eyes, tapping her foot. Rumplestiltskin almost smiled at her determined face. "Yes?"

"Okay. Rumplestiltskin, you are a brilliant brilliant man. So why I it that you cannot see what is right in front of you?" He tilted his head to the side a little.

"I see you, Belle." She smiled a little.

"Exactly." She stepped closer. "The queen told me of True Love's Kiss, yes?"

"Right." He said, wondering why he was allowing this woman to stand in front of him and actually speak; wondering why she was calming him down.

"She told me, expecting me to run along home to the big dark castle and use it on you right?"

"Right?"

"So she expected that it would work?"

"Yes?" The realization was beginning to dawn on him.

"And if I were a spy that she sent to get to you and make you weak, I wouldn't actually love you right?"

"Right!"

"Therefore the kiss wouldn't even work!"

"Exactly!" they were almost nose to nose now. Rumplestiltskin put his hands on Belle's waist. She smiled up at him.

"So," She said, voice soft, "if I were to kiss you now, would you remain cursed or would you become a man again?"

"I don't know, love, you tell me." Her eyes searched his.

"The real question is, would you be willing to give this," She gestured at him "up, for the price of a kiss?" He knew that this would go one of three ways: one, he would kiss her and he would remain cursed, two, he would kiss her and become a man, or three, he would do the cowardly thing and push her away and never find out.

He didn't want to do the cowardly thing anymore.

He bent slightly and brushed his lips over hers, feeling the spark of magic that told him exactly where this was going. He pulled her close and kissed her softly, marveling at how her body fit with his perfectly. When they finally broke apart he didn't feel any different at all. His heart sank.

'She must not love me after all' he thought. Then he heard her gasp.

"Rum!" she said, raising her hand to gently brush a lock of hair away from his face. She bit her lip, looking at him with a smile that showed her dimples. "You look perfect, exactly right."

"I'm human?" he asked softly, surprised at the Scottish brogue that he hadn't heard in a very very long time. "Impossible, I still have magic." Belle shook her head and shrugged slightly.

"That's a perk, want a mirror?"

"NO!" She looked surprised.

"Sorry…"

"No, it's just that, she can see through mirrors." He said softly, brushing a thumb across her cheek.

"I love you." She said with a smile.

"I love you." He replied. Then he stiffened.

"What wrong?" Belle asked. He shook his head and stepped away from her, reaching for his magic and changing his appearance back to the cursed form he had had for as long as he could remember. A moment later she was sitting at the long table polishing the silver and he was spinning at his wheel. She looked at him in shock and he simply shook his head as the doors at the end of the room burst open.

"Well well Rumples, I'm so surprised to see you in such a state!" Said the Dark Queen as she stalked in glancing at Belle.

"Whatever do you mean, my queen? Asked Rumplestiltskin mockingly as he bowed low to the floor.

"Nothing at all." She said as she wandered around the room. "I just wanted to see how things were going with your new cleaning girl. Is she any good? I may need to get myself a little cleaning boy." She chuckled as she circled Belle, picking up a curl and winding it around her finger. Belle stood abruptly.

"I'll get you some tea." She said as she began to walk out of the room. Rumplestiltskin watched her go from the corner of his eye, only relaxing when she left the room.

"I have a deal to discuss." Said the Queen, sitting in the chair Belle just vacated.

"A deal?" He asked, eyes gleaming. Whatever he needed to do to get her out and fast.

"That dragon egg you wanted? I've got it."

"Oh?"

"Yes, and it was so hard to get let me tell you, at least three of the handsomest princes I had ever seen, gone, poof, smoke! But I got it." She smirked at him.

"Yes yes, and what is your price." She asked, leaning against his wheel. He reached out with his magic to find where Belle was. She was coming down the hall with the tea on a tray. He began to feel desperate to get the Queen out.

"Oh it's nothing much, just a trinket really, I'm sure you can find another quite easily."

"Cut to the chase?" Belle walked in and set the tea tray on the far end of the table, she quickly made Rums tea just the way he liked it and handed it to him. Then she took the rest of the tray and sat it in front of the Queen; backing up several steps to stand against the wall. The Queen watched this with that trademark smirk on her face.

"I want her." She said, pointing at Belle. Belle crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, if they weren't in such a bad situation Rumplestiltskin would have laughed.

"No." He said with a maniacal giggle.

"Oh now why not?" Pouted the Queen.

"She is the best in the land, my Queen," He said, "One could not find another like her." The Queen smiled and stood, she had gotten what she had come for.

"Very well, maybe some other time." She said as she passed Belle. She let herself out and Rumplestiltskin watched as she climbed into her carriage and left.

This was bad. He turned and walked to Belle, pulling her into his arms.

Very bad indeed.

* * *

**A/N: So what if Rumpelstiltskin didn't fly off the handle and actually listened to what Belle had to say? well this would happen, in the next chapter the unlikely couple develop the plan and reluctantly they put it into action... review?**


	4. The Plan

**A/N: and here is the plan! Read it and love it!**

* * *

They were cuddled up in front of the fireplace again, this time they were sitting on the chaise lounge together. Belle was curled up, back against Rumplestiltskins chest, his fingers tracing lazy circles on her hip. The fire was crackling delightfully and it was raining outside. Belle held a book in her hands and there was tea sitting nearby on a little table. To the outside eye this would be the perfect domestic scene; a man and his wife or lover, sitting before the fire after dinner, seeing their future in its flames.

Unfortunately it was not so.

Belle had tears streaming down her face and her knuckles were white, clutching the book to prevent herself from hurling it across the room. Rumplestiltskin sat stone-faced, attempting to calm the pissed off female before him.

"I WONT. You cannot make me!" She was trembling.

"Love, there really is no other option."

"But YOU have the POWER to prevent that-that-that WITCH from doing ANYTHING! YOU just REFUSE to use it! WHAT GOOD IS IT?" He sighed and plucked the book from her fingers, closing it and laying it down on the table beside the tea. He ran the side of his hand across her cheek, wiping away her tears.

"Why are you crying?" he asked gently.

"I'M ANGRY! I CRY WHEN I'M ANGRY!" He tried not to smile. Gosh he loved her, he loved her spirit.

"Why are you angry?"

"You want me to LEAVE! NO! Why would I go back to that cold unfeeling mass at the castle? Why should I go and let Gaston paw all over me and listen to my father inform me of my DUTY and RESPONSIBILITIES as he FORCES me to MARRY the OAF!" She was practically yelling, attempting to get up. He kept his hand on her hip as a vice, unyielding. "OH LET ME UP!"she yelled.

"You wont have to worry about Gaston, love." She froze, turning to look at him.

"What did you do?" She asked, smile playing about the edges of her lips.

"Did you really like that rose?" He asked innocently, "the one that never dies?" She looked at him confused for a moment before understanding dawned in her eyes.

"Oh you!" she laughed "Oh dear." She sobered up quickly.

"What?" He asked, worried that she would hate him.

"I cut the rose…did I chop his feet off?" He smiled down at her.

"No"

"Oh good." She trailed off. "Rum?"

"Yes?"

"Do I really have to go?"

"Yes."

"Explain why again." For the third time, he opened his mouth to explain.

"The Queen suspects that you are important to me, that's why she told you what she did that day on the road, that's why she comes by every so often to 'check up' on us, that's why she wants you. To use you against me. And that is dangerous; she would just as soon kill you as look at you. You need to leave so that you can be safe."

"If I just go home wont she just take me the second you aren't there to protect me?" He paused for a moment, considering.

"We need to make something up." He said finally.

"Like what?"

"Like…I need to throw you out, but first I need a reason."

"What if I broke your wheel?" He looked at her.

"No." She finally wriggled out of his grasp and turned to face him, the length of their bodies pressed together.

"Okay…what if I did what the Queen asked? And you jumped to the same conclusions you did when I first told you, and then you get mad and throw me out…but you do it with the mirrors uncovered."

"She won't bother you because you no longer have any hold over me."

"And I will be out of your way, and she won't know you were cured."

"Brilliant." He murmured and bent slightly to kiss Belles smiling mouth. "You're absolutely brilliant." She kissed him back.

"Thanks I try." She smiled, then she bit her lip and her smile faded.

"I don't want to leave you." She whispered. Tears welled in her eyes again. He felt the pain well in his stomach as he thought about losing her.

"I don't want you to leave, but we have no choice. I am sorry." He tilted his forehead to rest on hers.

"Come visit me, all the time." She demanded.

"Every day." He promised.

"My goodness," she said, "Its just like one of my books." He smiled.

"It is indeed. Sleep my love, you will need it." She nodded and snuggled up against his chest, head resting on his shoulder. He put his arms around her and she was asleep in minutes, her temper tantrum taking its toll on her energy. Rumplestiltskin stayed awake as long as possible, memorizing the feel of her in his arms, the way she smelled, the color of her brown curls in the firelight. He memorized all of this in case his worst nightmare came true and he never got to see her again.

The Plan would be put into action tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N: Reviews? reviews anyone? Oh i just love this idea! It dawned on my just the other day! what if it was all a hoax? what if it was a devious plot? *Claps and bounces* Oh GOODY! Review and tell me if you like the plan!**


End file.
